Selenium depositing machine



Patented June 24, 1947 Cleveland Scudder Smith, Jr., West Orange, N. 1., and S01 Blumenthal, Indianapolis, Ind.; said Smith asslgnor to Samuel Ruben, New Ro- I chelle, N. Y., andsald Blumenthal assignor to P. R. Mallory & 00., Inc.,.Indianapolls, Ind., a

corporation of Delaware Application'September 5, 1945, Serial No. 614,517

14 Claims. (Cl. 91--'-12.2)

1 This invention relates to a coating machine and more particularly to a machine for the-continuous deposition of a material such as selenium vapor onto a base plate, and has for an object to provide a machine of the above type having novel and improved characteristics.-

In accordance with the present invention the. base plates onto which the selenium is to be de:

posited are passed on a conveyor beneath a plurality of boilers which are arranged to vaporize the selenium and to discharge the vapor downwardly onto the uppersurface of the plates as they pass thereunder. The boilers are arranged Referring to the drawing more in detail, the machine is shown as embodying a framework l0, having apedestal ll carrying a driving roller I2 and a pedestal I3 carrying an idler roller N. The conveyor belt [5 is passed around the rollers l2 and I4 and is driven thereby in the usual manner.

The driving roller I2 is mounted on a shaft i6 carrying a pulley II which is driven by a belt l8 from a driving pulley Ill. The driving pulley I! I is mounted on a shaft 20 supported in brackets 2| to deposit successive layers of selenium onto the base plate so that the depositis built up to the desiredthickness. t

In one embodiment of the invention, a thin iron conveyor, belt sliding over a glass support is held flat by a series of magnets which are placed beneath the conveyor. In the event the plates to be coated are of iron, the magnets serve also to position the plates accurately as they pass beneath the selenium boilers andsuitable adjust-- ments may be made for obtaining deposits havingj the .desired characteristics. The machine also includes pre-heating meansfor heating the base plates prior to the deposition of the selenium and means to prevent the excess selenium from de-,

positing on or contaminating the conveyor. the embodiment shown; this last means comprises a web of paper or the like which is fed along with theconveyor beneath the plates on which the selenium is to be deposited.

Although the novel features which are believed to be characteristic of this invention are pointed;

out more. particularly in the claims appended hereto, the nature of the invention will be better understood by referring to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which a specific embodiment thereof has been set forth for purposes of illustration.

Inthe drawing:

Fig.1 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a selenium depositing machine embodying the present invention; t v V Fig. Ms a transverse section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 showing the. arrangement of the selenium boilers;

Fig. 3 is a section taken Fig. 1 showing the feed chute for supplying the base'plates to the machine;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a base plate onwhich selenium is to be deposited; and I Fig. 5is1'a section similartoFig. 3 showing a modified form of feed chute. 1

on, the line 3-7-3 of attached to the frame l0 and is associated with a driving pulley'22 carrying a belt 23 which is driven by a pulley 24 attachedto the-shaft 25 of a driving motor 26. The motor 26 is likewise attached by a pedestal 21 to the frame Ill. The

pulleys l9 and 22 are of the speed regulating type and are so arranged that the speed of the con veyor 15 may be controlled as desired.

A roll 30 of paper or the like is mounted on brackets 3| carried by the frame I0 ahead of the idler roller 14. The web 32 of paper from the roll 30 passesonto the conveyor l5 and feeds along therewith, being deposited after passage over the roller [2 onto a suitable table 34. The web 32 may then be shredded and discarded or may be reeled upon a suitable take-off reel not shown.

The plates to be coated (Figs. 3 and 4) are fed down the feed chute 4l (Figs. 1 and 3) by suitable meansas by hand. The feed chute 4| comprises a bottom member 42 and side flanges 43 which are arranged to direct the plates 40 onto the conveyor IS. The conveyor is supported on longitudinal members 45 preferably of glass to position the same as it passesbetween the rollers I4 and H. A plurality of permanent magnets 46 are provided beneath the members 45 in a position to hold fiat the conveyor l5-as it carries extending entirely across the conveyor.

plates to be coated under the boilers to be described. If the plates to be coated are of iron, these magnets 46 serve to hold the plates in a horizontal position so that the spacing thereof from the boilers may be accurately controlled. In that event the conveyor belt may be made of non magnetic material.

The boiler section comprises a plurality of boilers 50 which are arranged in succession beneath a hood 5|. Each boiler 50 extends across conveyor, I5 and is of the type designed to vaporize selenium and discharge the vapor downwardly froman elongated slit in the bottom of the boiler embodiment shown the boilers are indicated as comprising a-plurality of vertically spaced trays In the over which the liquid flows downwardly as it is vaporized, the conditions being maintained so that the liquid is completely vaporized before it reaches the bottom of the boiler. A boiler of this type is more fully disclosed in our co-pending application Serial No. 614,518 filed September 5. 1945, for Selenium boilers (M-l355).

As shown in Fig. 2, the boilers are heated by heating tubes 53 connected to a heater 54. The heating tubes may be heated in any suitable manner as by electrical resistance rods. Each boiler is provided with trunnions 56 carrying rollers 51 which engage in channels 58 positioned along the hood so that the boilers may be spaced along the path of the conveyor as desired. The selenium is fed to each boiler from a hopper 60 by means of a screw conveyor 6| driven by a motor 62. The motor, hopper and conveyor are mounted on brackets 64 carrying rollers 65 which are supported on tracks-66 attached to the side of the hood, so that the feed mechanisms may be suitably adjusted to supply the material to the various boilers 50. The hood 5| is provided with a plurality of doors 6! through which the boilers may be adjusted and is provided with duct 58 leading to a suitable exhaust means not shown.

A pre-heating means, shown as a unit I0, is mounted ahead of the hood 5| adjacent the conveyor I5 so as to pre-heat the metal plates 40 before they pass to the boilers. The heat supplied to the plates by unit 10 may be generated by suitable means such as oxidation of combustible gases or electric heating elements and is shown as provided with connecting leads 'II by which heating current is supplied thereto.

In the operation of this machine the plates to be coated are supplied to the feed chute 4| by any suitable means and are deposited in succession on the conveyor I5. The web 32 of paper or the like is fed over the top surface of the conveyor I5 between the conveyor and the plates 40 and passes with the plates beneath the pro-heating unit I0 and the boilers 50 so as to prevent contamination of the conveyor by the selenium.

As the plates pass beneath the unit I0 they are pre-heated to a temperature suited for the efficient deposition of the selenium thereon. The boilers 50 are then adjusted so as to discharge the required quantity of vapor downwardly onto the upper surfaces of the plates 40 as they pass thereunder. The boilers should preferably be adjusted in close proximity to the upper surface of the plates 40 so that the vapors impinge directly on the plates as they emerge from the boilers. In this way contamination of the vapors is prevented and the vapors are most efliciently utilized. As the plates 40 pass beneath the boilers successive layers of selenium are deposited thereon until the deposit is built up to the desired thickness. The plates then pass from the hood 5| to the table 34 where they are discharged.

In the embodiment of Fig. 5 the chute M is provided with a plurality of channel members 80 which are arranged to guide a plurality of narrow plates 8I into the conveyor belt for treatment. This form permits a plurality of plates to be spaced and treated simultaneously.

It will be noted that the above machine is capable of operating continuously and that the selenium deposit may be varied as desired by suitable control of the feed of the conveyor I5 and of the size and distribution of the various selenium boilers 50. The selenium may of course be deposited onto a continuous strip if desired or may be deposited onto a succession 01' plates.

Although the machine is particularly adapted for the deposition of selenium, it is to be understood that it is not restricted thereto, but may be usedi'or the deposition or other materials in liquid or vapor form. A specific embodiment of the invention has been shown only for purposes of illustration. The invention is only to be restricted in accordance with the scope of the following claims.

What is claimedis:

l. A machine for depositing a layer of material on a base member, comprising a conveyor for advancing said base member, a plurality of boilers spaced along the path of travel of said conveyor, said boilers having means to vaporize said material and to discharge the vapors onto the base member on said conveyor, and means to adjust the position of said boilers along said path for controlling the distribution of said material on said base member.

2. A machine for depositing a layer of material on a base member, comprising a conveyor for advancing said base member, a plurality of boilers spaced along the path of travel of said conveyor, said boilers having means to vaporize said material and to discharge the vapors onto the base member on said conveyor, a hood enclosing said boilers and means mounting said boilers on said hood for adjustment along said path.

3. A machine for depositing a layer of material on a base member, comprising a conveyor for advancing said base member, a plurality of boilers spaced along the path oftravel of said conveyor, said boilers having means to vaporize said material and to discharge the vapors onto the base member on said conveyor, a web of disposable material and means feeding said web on said conveyor to protect the conveyor from said vapors.

4. A machine for depositing a layer of material on a base member, comprising a conveyor for advancing said base member, a plurality of boilers spaced along the path of travel of said conveyor, said boilers having means to vaporize said material and to discharge the vapors onto the base member on said conveyor, and a pre-heater disposed in advance of said boilers to pre-heat said member prior to deposition of the vapors thereon.

5. A machine for depositing a layer of material on a base member, comprising a conveyor for advancing said base member, a. plurality of boilers spaced along the path of travel of said conveyor, said boilers having means to vaporize said material and to discharge the vapors onto the base member on said conveyor, and feed means associated with each boiler to supply thereto material to be vaporized.

6. A machine for depositing a layer of material on a base member. comprising a conveyor for advancing said base member, a plurality of boilers spaced along the path of travel of said conveyor, said boilers having means to vaporize said material and to discharge the vapors onto the base member on said conveyor, and feed means comprising a hopper and a screw conveyor extending along the top of each boiler to supply thereto material to be vaporized.

7. A machine for depositing a layer of material on a base member, comprising a conveyor for advancing said base member, a plurality of boilers spaced alon the path oi travel of said conveyor, said boilers having means to vaporize said material and to discharge the vapors onto the base member on said conveyor, feed means associated with each boiler to supply thereto material to be vaporized, and means mounting said feed means for adjustment with said boilers along said path.

a. A machine for depositing a layer of material on a succession of base members, comprising a belt conveyor for advancing said base members, means driving said conveyor, means for adjusting the speed of said conveyor, a roll of web ma terial, means mounting said roll to feed said web along said belt and a plurality oi. boilers spaced along the path of travel or said conveyor, said boilers having means to vaporize said material and to discharge the vapors onto the base memher on said conveyor, and means discharging said base members with said web after passage beneath said boilers.

9. A machinefor depositing a layer of materi on a succession of base members, comprising a belt conveyor for advancing said base members, means drivingsaid conveyor, 9, roll of web material, means mounting said r011 to feed said web along said belt, and a plurality oi. boilers spaced lb. A machine for depositing a layer-oi mate rial on a succession oi base members, comprising a belt conveyor ior advancing said base members, means driving said conveyor, means for adjusting the speed of said conveyor, a roll of web material, means mounting said roll to feed said:web along said belt, and a plurality of boilers spaced alon the path of travel of said conveyor,-said boilers having means to vaporize said material and to discharge the vapors onto the base member on said conveyor, means to adjust the position of said boilers along said path tor controlling the distribution of said material on said base member, and means discharging said base members with said web after passage beneath said boilers,

ii. A machine for depositing a layer of material on a succession of base members, comprising a belt conveyor for advancing said base members, means driving said conveyor, means for adjusting the speed of said conveyor, 8. roll of web material, means mounting said roll to feed said Web along said belt, and a plurality of boilers spaced along the path of travel or said conveyor, said boilers having means to vaporize said material and to discharge the vapors onto the base member on said conveyor, means discharging said base members with said web after passage beneath said boilers, a hood enclosing said boilers, and means mounting said boilers on said hood for adjustment along said path.

iii. ii. machine for depositing a layer of mateoii a succession of base members, comprising a belt conveyor for advancing said base members. means driving said conveyor, means for adjustmg the speed of said conveyor, a roll of web material, means mounting said roll to feed said web along said belt, and a plurality of boilers spaced along the path of travel of said conveyor, said boilers having means to vaporize said material and to discharge the vapors onto the base member on said conveyor, means discharging said base members with said web after passage beneath said boilers, and a, preheater disposed in advance of said boilers to pre-heat said member prior to deposition of the vapors thereon.

13. A machine for depositing a layer of material on a succession of base members, comprising a belt conveyor for advancing said base members, means driving said conveyor, means for adjusting the speed of said conveyor, a roll 0! web material, means mounting said roll to feed said web along said belt, and a plurality of boilers spaced along the path of travel of said conveyor, said boilers having means to vaporize saidmaterial and to discharge the vapors onto the base member on said conveyor, means discharging said base members with said web after passage beneath said boilers, and feed means associated with each boiler to supply thereto material to be vapor- 14. A machine for depositing a layer of mate- I rial on a succession of base members, comprising a belt conveyor for advancing said base members, means driving said conveyor, means for adjusting the speed of said conveyor, a roll ofweb material, means mounting said roll to feed said web along said belt, and a plurality of boilers spaced along the path of travel of said conveyor, said boilers having means to vaporize said material and to discharge the vapors onto the base member on said conveyor, means discharging said base members with said web after passage beneath said boilers, and feed means comprising a hopper and a screw conveyor extending along Y the top oi. each boiier to supply thereto material to be vaporized.

scun na SMITH, Jn. son BLUMEN'I'HAL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the tile of this patent:

nm'rnnsra'rns PATENTS Wettlauier Aug. 13, 1935 

